Members Sought to Serve On Yukon-Kuskokwim Region Salmon Research Work Group

The following press release is courtesy of NOAA Fisheries Alaska:

The Alaska Salmon Research Task Force was established in June 2023 to identify data gaps and produce a coordinated science plan for Alaska salmon. It is now in the process of setting up teams and a work group to enlist broader community input in these efforts. 

The Task Force is required to convene an Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Region Salmon Research Work Group to better understand the historic declines of Chinook and chum salmon runs in that region in recent years. 

Work Group Responsibility 

Specifically, the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Region Salmon Research Work Group is to focus on: 

• Research needs associated with salmon returns in the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim region
• Applied research needed to better understand increased variability and declining salmon returns

Nomination Submission Requirements

Interested parties should provide their name and contact information (email, phone, and mailing address). They should also include a brief description their knowledge and relevant experience in relation to Alaska salmon in the Yukon or Kuskokwim Rivers, such as: 

• Formal and informal education
• Jobs and responsibilities
• Publications
• Affiliations
• Local and Indigenous Knowledge
• Personal knowledge of, and direct experience with, salmon via
  • Subsistence
  • Directed salmon commercial, recreational and charter fishing 
  • Seafood processing
  • Expertise in statistical, biological, economic, social or other scientific information relevant to the work group’s focus

In identifying work group participants, the Task Force is seeking to have equitable representation from different parts of the river, together with knowledge to address and prioritize research needs.

The nomination deadline is July 19, 2023. Submit nominations via email to Dr. Ed Farley at Ed.Farley@noaa.gov